Page 64 of Play Rough (Black Rose Kisses 2)

The look on Sloan’s face clearly suggests he’s not so sure about the odds of Alex’s survival, but he seems to be thinking more emotionally than his dad right now.

It’s strangely fascinating to watch them interact, and I let myself get distracted by that instead of focusing on the knot of fear in my stomach.

I can see all the ways they’re so similar and yet so different too. I remember Sloan talking about his mother, and I have to wonder how much of her influence is in him. Gavin’s concern about Alex seems purely practical. He doesn’t seem like the sort of person to really care about people on a human level, and I feel like Sloan has the capacity for it. Even if he’s really good at pretending otherwise.

“Did you take care of the house?” Gavin asks.

“Yeah. I had the guys you sent wipe everything. The fucking Jackals left just enough cash behind to make a point. It’ll get brought in soon.”

It’s kind of agonizing, standing here while they discuss logistics. I have no idea what Gavin’s ruling is going to be, and I can’t relax until I figure out what’s going to happen from here.

During this whole ordeal, I had a singular focus, one goal that rose up above everything else.

Take down the Black Roses.

Everything was leading to that endgame. Whenever I was lost or having a hard time figuring out what I should do next, I could orient myself around that goal and course-correct to get back to it.

But now that goal is gone. The vengeance I wanted isn’t there to be had anymore, and I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff staring into a dark, empty sky. I have no idea what comes next, and it reminds me of the early days of living with the guys, when I was so unsure of what I was supposed to do.

; A lot depends on what Gavin decides, and I can’t stop myself from glancing at him, trying to analyze what he’s thinking. What he’s planning for me.

At the moment, he seems more interested in tying up loose ends with Sloan than in paying any attention to me, dealing with the immediate fallout of the Jackals’ attack.

The sound of a cell phone buzzing cuts into their conversation, and Gavin holds his hand up again, silencing Sloan as he pulls out his phone to take the call.

“Progress?” he asks.

It’s too quiet to hear what the other person is saying, just the hum of a male voice on the other end of the line. Another Black Rose member, I’m willing to bet.

He talks for a bit, probably filling Gavin in on the ongoing situation.

“Any sign of them?” Gavin asks. “There are only so many places they could go that quickly. We own most of that section of town.”

He nods while the other guy talks again, brows drawing together. “You need to cover more ground. The best way to get ahead of this fucking mess is to stop them before they can get too far away. I’ll send you some backup. I want a progress report before the end of the night.”

He means business, clearly, and he’s crisp and well-spoken for a gang leader. If I weren’t so tangled up in this shitty-ass mess, I might even be kind of impressed.

He listens a bit more and then nods with a sort of finality. “Right. Well, keep me posted. If we can avoid this getting worse than it is, that would be something.” He ends the call and looks back to Sloan. “They’re trying to track down where the Jackals might have taken the money. If we can intercept a smaller group of them, we might be able to avoid an all-out war with these assholes.” His eyes glance over to where Levi and Rory are still standing, both with their arms folded. “We need more people on the streets searching. I want the two of you to join the others. Damon and Bryce will be leaving from here in five minutes. I want you with them.”

They both exchange a look with each other and then glance at me. Levi’s gaze lingers hot on my skin, and Rory’s jaw is clenched tight. I can tell neither one of them wants to leave me alone here, either with Sloan or his father or both, but their leader just gave them an order. They can’t defy him. Especially for someone who just admitted she’s been working against them. That wouldn’t go over well at all.

They both shift their gazes to Sloan, and I have no idea what they’re thinking he’s going to tell them, considering he’s just as bound to his dad’s will as they are.

But he gives them a small nod, and it’s obvious it relaxes them a bit.

“We’ll let you know what we find,” Rory says, and they both turn to leave. Rory touches my shoulder on the way out, and Levi gives me another of those lingering looks.

I can admit I feel a little ashamed for doubting them before. It’s obvious they care about me, to the point where they’d even consider wanting to stay with me instead of following orders. It makes a little bubble of warmth and hope expand in my chest, but that feeling doesn’t last long when I’m left alone with Gavin and Sloan.

At least Levi and Rory were sort of on my side.

The door closes behind them, and Gavin turns his attention back to his son. Something shifts in his expression, as if part of his public persona is dropping away now that it’s just him and his son. And me.

“This will hurt us,” he tells Sloan, his voice a deep rumble. “Badly. The loss of the money is one thing, and maybe we’ll be able to recover some of it. But if they break Alex? If they get him to talk? We’re fucked. They’ll know too much about our business dealings, possibly enough to get the FBI after us. It could destroy us.”

Sloan’s jaw clenches, and I hear the sound of his sharp breath beside me. “We won’t let that happen.”